A FILMMAKER who went to Shirley Oaks believes hundreds of people have yet to speak out about the abuse they suffered there.
Bill Maloney, a child abuse campaigner, is known for confronting public figures, including Nick Clegg, Ken Livingstone and disgraced publicist Max Clifford, about allegations of institutional paedophilia.
He has even called for the Shirley Oaks site, demolished to make way for housing, to be excavated because he claims there may be bodies buried there.
"There are so many stories about that place," he told the Advertiser. "Most of [the abuse] occurred in two cottages, one of which my sister was in.
"An adult from the college next door would come into the bedroom and abuse my sister's friend. One day the woman in charge of the cottage opened the door and looked in, then closed the door and left. There was a hell of a lot going on there. I know that three of my siblings were abused at Shirley Oaks.
"I believe there may be hundreds of people who have not yet come forward to speak about what happened."
Mr Maloney, 59, started investigating Shirley Oaks and other children's homes through his work with Pie & Mash Films, his production company, having been a damaged man when he first came out of the care system.
He explained: "I met my wife 38 years ago and she taught me how to love again. We got married, had a daughter and I led a very normal life. I didn't want to look back and I didn't need to.
"But when I became a filmmaker, a bit like when you become a journalist, you start looking into things and uncovering the truth."
He added: "I think abuse was rife in children's homes like Shirley Oaks because there was no way of informing the authorities. There was no chance of speaking out and, if you pushed beyond what they thought was the limit, you would disappear.
"Now the internet is opening it all up because it gives victims a platform which can't be taken away from them."
